Review: Celebrating Pets - Abe's Market Happy Carrot for Cats

Celebrating Pets month is running over into June!

Sherpa has been a lucky kitty this month. He received another package in the mail and it caused this:

That's right!
The bitey!

What he received was a Happy Carrot from Abe's Market.

Abe's Market is the cutest online shop. I have to admit that their mascot bear is to die for.

Abe's is chock full of products for your cats, dogs and even your human children! Here is a bit about Abe's straight from the bear, so to speak:

Abe’s Market is the online marketplace for great natural products. We connect buyers seeking amazing natural products with the people who make them. There’s no need to prowl the Internet for a broader natural product selection than can be found at your local natural market. At Abe’s Market, you can get all your natural product buying done in one place.

Too often today, we buy products without knowing the origin of the products. At Abe’s Market you can discover fantastic natural products while having the unique opportunity to learn the story behind them – straight from the products’ creators. This valuable background goes beyond what can be found on a label. Who makes the product? What’s in it? Where is it made? How? You can even chat directly with sellers to ask specific questions so you know that you can trust and be comfortable with the products you bring into your home.

We’re Abe’s Market. We want you to feel good about your goods. 

Pretty cool, huh?

I just know that Sherpa LOVED his catnip Happy Carrot! Here's the video proof

Now try and tell me he wasn't having fun! The felty material is good for him to grip and then toss around and it's full of yummy 'nip.

Sherpa gives the Abe's Market Happy Carrot two paws WAY up!

Disclosure:  I was sent a Happy Carrot for my cat Sherpa. Any opinions expressed are those of my cat Sherpa. You can see from the video he was one happy cat and to him all toys are free so he really didn't care where it came from just that it was full of 'nip and fun to play with.

Giveaway Winners: The Necromancer Book and Water Bottle and Montana Destiny

It's a big book night here at Broken Teepee - 6 winners will have a new book to read!

First up - the young adult novel The Necromancer with its matching water bottle.
The lucky comment is:

Here are your random numbers:

16

Timestamp: 2010-06-01 03:30:42 UTC

And the lucky commenter is:

Sue!
Congratulations! Be sure to continue to play The Quest for the Codex - it's fun!

Five winners will be reading Montana Destiny thanks to The Hachette Book Group.

The lucky comments are:

Here are your random numbers:

20 38 36 31 1

Timestamp: 2010-06-01 03:38:10 UTC

And the comments belong to:

Donna C
Sharp Teeth of Love
Carole Spring
LAMusing
Diane

Yay!  I will be sending emails to all the lucky winners and they will have 48 hours to respond or I will choose new winners.

Thanks to everyone who entered and a great big thank you to the sponsors for providing the great books!

You can get both The Necromancer and Montana Destiny at Amazon.com

Giveaway: Men and Dogs by Katie Crouch (audiobook)

From the Publisher's Website:

In April of 1985, Buzz Legare went fishing. The next day all that was found was his boat and his waiting, faithful dog.

Twenty years later, his daughter Hannah still finds hope in believing, alone among her family, that he's still alive somewhere. She has a smart husband, a thriving business, a beautiful home in San Francisco-and a huge hole in her troubled heart. True to her trademark talent for self-sabotage, she finds herself one starry night climbing up the fire escape in a desperate (and drunken) attempt to win back her own husband--and failing disastrously.

Slightly worse for the wear, Hannah returns to Charleston to salve her wounds. There, old loves, unrepented crimes, and family legends are stirred up from the dust. Hannah's brother Palmer, the stoic with a secret of his own, cannot dissuade her from a manic search to uncover clues to the past, and they will both face shocking discoveries that lead them to reconcile their very different notions of loyalty and blind faith.

As she did so memorably in her bestselling debut, Girls in Trucks, Katie Crouch has created another great voice--spiky, tender, and hilarious--in the screwball heroine Hannah Legare. Much like Julia Roberts in My Best Friend's Wedding, Hannah follows the misguided impulses of a heart that's in the right place.

About the Author:

I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, but now I live in San Francisco as a Southerner-in-exile. I've always wanted to be a writer, but was too scared to fully commit to it until my late twenties, when I stopped working in advertising and went to Columbia University to get my MFA. It took me five years to write Girls in Trucks. I wrote each chapter ten to twenty times. There are about eight chapters that ended up on the cutting room floor.

I mine my own life for material. My fiction is not totally autobiographical, because that would make for a pretty messy story, but emotionally I've lived almost everywhere my characters have been.
I learned an enormous amount about writing in college and graduate school, but mostly I learned how to express myself by reading the work of other great writers. I love the British Literature of the early twentieth century, particularly Brideshead Revisted by Evelyn Waugh, and E.M. Forster's Howard's End. I guess I'm a sucker for English manor life, or my fantasy of it, anyway.

Marguerite Duras's The Lover is my favorite love story. I admire many contemporary Southern writers, my favorite being Josephine Humphreys, the author of Rich in Love and Nowhere Else on Earth. I was fortunate enough to get to know her when I was in high school, because her son was my high school sweetheart. I've always admired her intelligence and grace, both on the page and off.
The last book that absolutely blew me away was James Coetze's Disgrace. I've read Susan Minot's novel Evening three times and each time have found some new beautiful nugget I missed before. Same goes for The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer. I was just given Uwem Akpan's debut book of stories about Africa, Say You're One Of Them. It's really not to be missed.
Finally, I read Joan Didion's essay, Goodbye to All That about once a month. It's my favorite piece of writing. She breaks my heart every time.

Men and Dogs is available on Amazon.com














Three lucky winners will win a copy of the Men and Dogs audiobook thanks to The Hachette Book Group.
How cool is that?
How do you win? It's easy but first some rules:

US and Canada only
No PO Boxes
Only one copy per person - even if you win on another blog.

MANDATORY ENTRY:

Leave me a comment with your email address so I can contact you if you win.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

PLEASE LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH EXTRA ENTRY.

PLEASE

1. Follow my blog publicly. If you already follow, just say so. And thank you.
2. Follow me on twitter and tweet about the giveaway(one per day) - @BrokenTeepee and Hachette Books are giving away 3 copies of Men and Dogs (audio) by Katie Crouch@http://tinyurl.com/2ae5997 #giveaway

3. Blog about this giveaway with a link back to Broken Teepee (this is good for 5 entries so leave 5 comments)
4. "Like" Katie Crouch on Facebook
5. Enter any of my other current giveaways. Good for one entry per...

6. Put me on your blogroll and leave a link where I can find it. 

7. Add my button to your blog and leave me a link where I can find it. (Good for 3 entries so leave 3 comments)
8. Join my networked blogs - the widget is off to the right.
9. Become my friend on facebook
10. Follow my goat Pricilla's Blog publicly. If you already do, just say so. And thank you.
12. Subscribe to Broken Teepee by email - look at the top right hand side of the blog
(good for two entries so leave two comments)
13. Subscribe in a reader - RSS is at the top right hand side of the blog.


All entries need to be in by 9PM MDT on June 14th when I will go to Random.org and choose the winners. They will have 48hrs to respond or I will choose new winners.


Good luck everyone


Disclosure:  This is a giveaway only. I received no monetary compensation for this post. The Hachette Book Group is providing the audiobooks for the giveaway.

9781607881834

Weekly Giveaway Linky

Happy Memorial Day!

Yurtgress - The Bathroom Floor

Last weekend we put down the bathroom floor.
And fun was had by all.

One of the joys of a less than square house is that well, nothing is square.
I complained of this when I was cutting the tiles for the backsplash and tub surround.

With the laying of the floor the bathroom continued to live up to it's title: The Room of a Thousand Cuts.

As I mentioned in previous posts we used an eco-friendly tile called Marmoleum.

The color is Eiger and it is very swirly in shades of grey.

I should have started taking photos earlier but duty called, ya know?

Marmoleum is made in Scotland so instead of being 12"x12" they are metric and worked out to be 13"X13". I only do metric with beads.....

There were lots of little places that had lots of odd cuts like the linen closet, around the heating vent

and where the toilet will go

But the hubby did an excellent job of fitting the tiles.

Especially since he had never done this before.

He also did the hard work of rolling the seams. He could exert more pressure than I could.

All in all I am very happy with my  new floor.

Now it just needs to be sealed and the bathroom will be ready for the vanity and toilet!
The glue to lay the tile and the sealer are both eco-friendly and low VOC!

Book Review: Nancy's Theory of Style by Grace Coopersmith

From the Publisher's Website:

Lively young socialite Nancy Carrington-Chambers has always believed an excellent sense of style and strict attention to detail are what it takes to succeed, but her own husband Todd is showing symptoms of incurable tackiness, so Nancy flees their McMansion for her posh San Francisco apartment. She knows her event planning company, Froth, is a real winner, but she must prove herself by reinventing the turgid Barbary Coast Historical Museum fundraiser. Luckily, Nancy now has the perfect assistant. Derek Cathcart is British, impeccably dressed, gorgeous, and clearly gay—so why does Nancy find him so attractive?

Before Nancy can unravel her feelings, her irresponsible cousin Birdie abandons her little daughter with Nancy and takes off. Nancy, Derek, and Eugenia make an unlikely “family,” but strangely it seems incredibly right. Now Nancy’s parents are pressuring her to return to Todd, and she still has to pull off a spectacular party. For someone who’s always known exactly where she’s going, Nancy is in dangerously uncharted waters.

Irresistibly funny and romantic, Nancy’s Theory of Style shows that happiness and
love—just like fashion—aren’t about playing it safe.

About the Author:

See GraceCoopersmith.com

My Opinion:

When you start this book I think you are supposed to wonder whether you like Nancy or not; she has everything! Money, a good looking husband, she's building the perfect house and HER style is of course, perfect too. But it is all a veneer. A bright, shiny veneer. And veneers can crack under pressure.

Nancy feels that if she is in control all will be perfect. Silly girl. After our introduction to her we find her leaving her husband, Todd for a bit of a break to help get her party planning business of the ground. Todd kindly (?) offers to pay for an assistant for Nancy - sending over three applicants. One of them is her dream assistant - a gay Englishman.

Her business, Froth has done some small parties but nothing major. She finally is given the opportunity of her lifetime and her wacky aunt does a drive by visit. When Aunt Birdie is gone Nancy finds that she has left her daughter Eugenia in Nancy's care. Nancy is shocked, bewildered and somewhat unable to deal but Derek, her assistant jumps right in and helps Nancy give Eugenia the stability the little girl needs.

The story focusses on Nancy planning the big party, Nancy dealing with her feelings for Derek and Nancy slowly falling in love with Eugenia. All while Nancy considers marrying Todd's best friend because he is more her style. Or is he?

This was a fun, light, airy book much like the name of Nancy's business - Froth! I enjoyed the book immensely and the characters were interesting and diverse.  The ending was a bit of a surprise and left me wanting more.  What else can you ask of a book?

Nancy's Theory of Style is available at Amazon.com
















Disclosure:  I received a gratis copy of Nancy's Theory of Style. Any opnions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by the receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Giveaway Winner: Tropical Traditions Organic Shredded Coconut

It's time for another winner!
Tonight it's for the Tropical Traditions Organic Coconut.
I loved those macaroons I made. They didn't last long, that's for sure!
Now someone else will have a bucket o'coconut to experiment with!

Without further ado:

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 143 

The lucky commenter is:


Donna C!!!!!


Thanks to everyone who entered. And of course a great BIG thank you to Tropical Traditions!!

Remember, for those of you who did not win you can still purchase the Organic Shredded Coconut direct from TropicalTraditions.com  along with lots of other great products!

New Winner for EZLeash

One of my winners did not get back to me in the EZLeash giveaway and I had to choose a new winner.
The new winner is:

aggie!

I will send and email and aggie will have 48 hours to respond.

Thanks again to all who entered!

Review: Log Cabin All Natural Syrup

I loves me some pancakes.
I especially loves me some pancakes for dinner.
But this post is not about pancakes for dinner.
It is about good friends visiting from Canada.
It is about a pancake breakfast before they headed out for the rest of their journey
And it's about the four of us taste testing Log Cabin's new All Natural Syrup.

I did not take photos of my pancake making. It felt rude to be doing so when I had company.
Plus it was morning and I hadn't had any coffee yet and I WAS ALREADY MAKING THE PANCAKES WITHOUT BENEFIT OF CAFFEINE. Was this not enough for one person to do?

You all know what pancakes look like anyway.
They were light.
They were fluffy.
And some of them had blueberries in them.
Can you see them in your imaginations?
Good.

I continue....

I gave everyone excepting myself two little cups of syrup. I didn't take two 'cause I'm one of those weird people who doesn't like true maple syrup. I KNOW! I have been a Log Cabin girl for a long time now. I use it a lot in cooking. So when I learned I could try the new stuff without the high fructose corn syrup I was all over it!

I liked it right away. It's nicely sweet but not sticky sweet. It has a light but true maple flavor.  As to my other guinea pigs tasters?  Well, my husband is a snob purist. He lived in Vermont for 10 years and actually sugared for a period so he doesn't like anything but VERMONT maple syrup. This is somewhat challenging in MONTANA but I deal.

Both of my friends preferred the new Log Cabin All Natural Syrup to the real maple syrup!
So how's that for a taste test? 3 out of 4 people in the Broken Teepee household that day preferred the Log Cabin over real maple syrup!
It also comes in the cutest little jug, ever!

Here is the scoop direct from Log Cabin:

MOUNTAIN LAKES, NJ (May 2010)–Log Cabin® Syrup—a family household tradition since 1887—launches the first ever nationally distributed All Natural syrup.This introduction follows the recent removal of high fructose corn syrup from all Log Cabin products and is driven by growing consumer demand for high quality products that are all natural with no artificial colors or flavors. This new authentic syrup is made with only the finest All Natural ingredients while also being gluten free, whilst still maintaining that delicious taste.

Breakfast—particularly a well-balanced one—is considered by many to be the most important meal of the day and is essential to providing people with what their bodies need in order to say focused and energized throughout the day. Consumers can rest assured that they are starting their day off on the right foot with Log Cabin’s new All Natural syrup, which contains no high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, artificial colors or flavors. So you and your family can finally enjoy a perfectly sweet blend of natural sugar and maple syrup.

“People have become increasingly aware of the ingredients in the foods they eat and are moving steadily toward all-natural and organic products,” says Stefan Aps, Marketing Director for Pinnacle Foods Group. “Log Cabin is at the forefront of innovation in the syrup category and therefore recognizes the importance of offering an all natural table syrup.”

Log Cabin All Natural can be found in retailers nationwide in the specialty syrups section: Size-22 fl oz, Price- $4.99

For more information on Log Cabin, log onto www.logcabinsyrups.com.

So there you go!

The tale of a pancake loving girl and her new maple flavored obsession:  Log Cabin All Natural Syrup! Soon to be found in a grocery store near you.  Taste it! You'll love it.

Disclosure:  I received a gratis (cutest ever little) jug of Log Cabin All Natural Syrup. Any opinions expressed are my (and my guests') honest opinions and were not impacted by the receipt of the free syrup. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Opportunity thanks to:

Book Review: Beaded Hope by Cathy Ligget

From the Publisher's Website:

Four American women, all with their own challenges, embark on a mission trip to South Africa. Their lives are changed as they encounter a group of South African women who suffer from AIDS yet demonstrate great joy and faith in the face of overwhelming adversity. When the Americans discover the amazing beadwork that has been taught to generations of women in the community, they uncover a way to help these proud people support their families by selling their craft.

About the Author:

Cathy Liggett knew writing fiction was for her after reading aloud a junior high English assignment and watching the class—at least the girls—well up with emotion. Yet it wasn't until much later in life that she seriously tried her hand at storytelling again. First came years of advertising copywriting, gift product development, and the publication of a non-fiction book.
Through it all, the urge to write fiction kept tugging on her, and a few years ago she published sweet romances for the secular market. After the release of these books, however, came an even stronger tug on her heart—a yearning to write inspirational fiction. Beaded Hope  came from that desire.
Cathy and her husband, Mark, live in Loveland, Ohio, and are always happy when their greatest blessings—their two grown children—are home for a stay. Visit her Web site at www.cathyliggett.com. 

My Opinion:

Have a box of tissues handy as you reach the end.


Well written with strongly developed characters this book is one that truly tugs at the heartstrings.  
Four women head off to South Africa on a mission trip to help a village deeply impacted by HIV/AIDS.
Little do they know that they will be helped more by the trip than the villagers.


All four leave from the States with problems of their own but find out that the problems they are facing have nothing on what the women in South Africa face. 


What I especially liked about this book was the way that each character was introduced; slowly and individually. You learned why they were running away on this mission and you learned their core personalities first. That way when the transformations occurred they made sense and were true to the person.


The final chapters are heartrending and uplifting. It reminds you that even when a person acts with less than the best of intentions a good act can result in life altering changes.

Beaded Hope is available at Amazon.com

















Disclosure:  I received a gratis copy of Beaded Hope from Tyndale Publishing for review. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by the receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Review: Celebrating Pets - CFA Catnip Infused Toys by Sherpa the Cat

Sherpa is a very spoiled kitty.
Very spoiled.

This is probably due to the fact that I lost Fred and don't want to lose Sherpa. That and the fact that my hubby gave me Sherpa and I really couldn't believe he would actually go out and willingly bring home a cat!

But Sherpa is also a lot of fun and he has benefited most from Celebrating Pets month.
Stinky and Pumpkin are now in outside mode and I am not seeing much of them - they show up to eat but that is about it. They are my wanderers. They don't wander from the property but they much prefer being outside.

If you recall, Sherpa received a box from Jakks Toys.  Inside were two very cute catnip infused toys for him to play with.  And it will be him doing the playing; Stinky is one of those cats that doesn't react to catnip and Pumpkin is older and not one for playing.

The first thing out of the box was this adorable Mouse Doorknob Dangler.  This was the toy Sherpa wouldn't even let me take off of the packaging before he started running away with it!

At first I thought it was a squirrel because I only saw it in a blur of grey and orange and it and Sherpa ran hither and yon in the trailer.  I finally wrangled it away from the little feline to take it off the cardboard and saw that it was a mouse.  It has little bells on the bottom so I know when Sherpa is running with this toy. He seems to like toys that make noise.  The little legs dangle down so that if one had a doorknob (ah hem - I will have them once I move into the yurt) one could hang it on the door and the kitty could jump and play. In the trailer MY kitty just puts the bitey on and runs like the devil is chasing him.  All in all I would  - or rather Sherpa would - say TWO PAWS UP!

The second toy was a little stuffed mousie.  It's very soft and Sherpa's claws can hook into it easily for throwing around and chasing. One of his favorite activities. He has such good throwing power I never know where I am going to find a cat toy.  I have seen this mousie almost hit the roof of the trailer and the orange flash starts running towards its new destination. So to me that says another TWO PAWS UP!

Sherpa wants to thank Jakks Toys for his new entertainment and so do I. If he has his toys I don't find him running around with my jewelry in his mouth.  For some reason this cat like to steal things and hide them.  I would rather he do that with cat toys.

These adorable and Sherpa approved toys are sold at Petco, Petsmart and other pet specialty stores.

Disclosure:  I - well really Sherpa - received the two above reviewed toys from Jakks Toys gratis.  Any opinions expressed are my interpretations of Sherpa's fun with the toys. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Book Review: A Cottage by the Sea by Ciji Ware

From the Publisher's Website:

“Do not start unless you want to be up all night!…Whether or not you believe in reincarnation, you’ll believe in the ability of love to transcend time and place and the wonder of Ciji Ware’s writing. Superb!”
--Romantic Times (Gold Medal review)

One woman, one man, one shared fate…
A remote cottage on the wild coast of Cornwall sounded to Blythe Barton Stowe like the perfect escape from the pain and humiliation of recent events in her Hollywood life. But soon she seems to be reliving a centuries-old tragedy, and the handsome owner of the shabby manor house on the hill appears vitally entwined in her destiny. As they unearth one shocking family secret after another, Blythe is forced to conclude that her intriguing neighbor is more than just an impecunious British gentleman bent on saving his ancestral home. And the impeccably honorable Lucas Teague begins to see Blythe as a lifeline in an otherwise bleak existence.
But is the unbridled attraction they’re experiencing a dangerous distraction, or could it be strong enough to transcend the insurmountable complexities of time and place…?

“A deep, complex novel exploring love, betrayal, healing, and renewal in the human heart.”
--Affaire de Coeur
“A book to be savored and then put on the keeper shelf.”
--Gothic Journal

About the Author:

In addition to her career as a novelist, Ciji Ware was a reporter and commentator on radio and television in Los Angeles for more than twenty years. She majored in history and was the first woman graduate of Harvard College to serve as president of the University's worldwide Harvard Alumni Association. Her numerous awards include an Emmy, and a Dupont for her television work, a Silver Gavel for magazine journalism, and the Dorothy Parker Award of Excellence for her historical novel, Island of the Swans. Ciji is also a sought-after event speaker, print journalist, and the author of 6 historical novels, as well as the nonfiction work Rightsizing Your Life --selected by the Wall Street Journal as one of the "Top 5 Books on Retirement" for 2007. She lives with her husband, Internet Marketing executive Tony Cook, in the maritime village of Sausalito, seven minutes across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. She often commutes to New York to visit her grown son and daughter-in-law.


My Opinion:


Oh my. I'm still lost between two times; modern and the 18th century. This book expertly weaves the two together so that when you switch from one era to the other there is no awkwardness at all. It all seems so believable. 

Blythe Barton flees Hollywood after a bitter, devastating divorce.  Her grandmother had passed down stories of ancestors from Cornwall, England so she thought she could hide out there for a while and get away from the scandal.  What she didn't expect to find was a handsome landlord.

While studying a genealogical chart Blythe touches the glass covering it and finds herself as a voyeur to a seen from her ancestor's past. She experiences the events as though she was there and remembers them when she comes out of her trance.

By experiencing her past she comes to grip with her present.

I loved this book. It was romantic, it was well written and the relationship developed over a period of time. The characters were fun and diverse. I truly loved the back and forth between centuries learning about how modern Blythe's ancestors came to be in Wyoming. The writing was sharp and the dialog witty.

A Cottage by the Sea is available at Amazon.com














Disclosure:  I received a gratis copy of The Cottage by the Sea from Sourcebooks for review. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and not impacted by receipt of the free book.  I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Yurtgress - Furniture Shopping

It is very interesting reaching your 29th year of marriage with not much more than a mattress, a set of pots and a KitchenAid.

I now have two KitchenAids but that is a tale for a post all on its own.
I just have the most magnificent blog friends in the whole wide word. And and Empire Red Professional KitchenAid. It's beautiful. I have been lusting after it for years. And now it will sit on my new countertops.

But back to my furniture shopping.  The hubby kept saying, "there is no money." So I was all set to go to the thrift store. We went into Wagner's in Missoula and found the prettiest dining room table EVER. It is birch. Oddly, I was looking for a round table and this one is oval-ish. The lines on it are just stunning. The legs look like a ballet dancer on pointe. It's very hard to explain. I should have taken the camera....
It is made by a Canadian company called Canadel. It has to be made in Canada, then get shipped to New York, then to South Carolina then to Missoula then to me.  It will be one well traveled dining room set.

For the sofa, I had fallen in love with Nathan Anthony's eco friendly line but when I had it priced out by the very friendly Barb at Modory in Missoula, it was just too much money. But I found I was looking at just too much sofa! I have spatial relations problems.  We went back in with proper measurements and found that the sofa, chair and ottoman we ordered were indeed affordable. I of course, ordered a very subtle color.

It will all take about 8 weeks to get here so it will be dual living for a bit but still....I am very excited to be really getting this close.

Woo hoo!
Can you believe it?!

Giveaway Winners: The Language God Talks by Herman Wouk

You know I love to pick winners. Tonight there are 5 lucky winners for The Language God Talks.

The winning comments are:

Here are your random numbers:

27 3 24 5 11

Timestamp: 2010-05-28 04:03:02 UTC

And the lucky commenters are:

Cheryl F
traveler
Linda Kish
Benita
Elise

Woo hoo!

I will send and email and the winners will have 48 hours to respond or I will choose new winners.

A great big thank you goes out to The Hachette Book Group for sponsoring this giveaway.

Remember - if you didn't win, you can purchase The Language God Talks at Amazon.com

Giveaway: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Year Round Gardening by Sherri Ann Richerson

You know I love my garden.
Well, the hubby does the gardening. I just do all the processing; the canning, the freezing and the drying. But without the garden we wouldn't have all those good vegetables to eat all winter long.

Now that I will soon be living in the house I want to be able to have a nice little herb garden so I can have fresh herbs any time I want to add that little pizzazz to a meal. And the hubby says he can always use extra gardening tips; especially given that we live in a state with a very short growing season.

Enter The Complete Idiot's Guide to Year Round Gardening by Sherri Ann Richerson.

Chock full of information to help you get the best and the most out of your garden - inside and out!

Woo hoo!

SPECIAL ALERT:  On Thursday May, 27th the author will answering questions live from her garden! It starts at 11 AM CDT  Use the hashtag #AskCIG

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Year Round Gardening is available at Amazon.com














One lucky reader will get to win a copy of this spiffy book!

How do you win? It's easy!
But first some rules:

US Only
No PO Boxes

MANDATORY ENTRY:

What is your favorite vegetable to grow in your garden. Be sure to leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

1. Follow my blog publicly. If you already follow, just say so. And thank you.
2. Follow me on twitter and tweet about the giveaway(one per day) - Broken Teepee and The Complete Idiot's Guides are showing you how to grow your garden year round@http://tinyurl.com/36wsura#giveaway

3. Blog about this giveaway with a link back to Broken Teepee (this is good for 6 entries so leave 6 comments)
4. Follow @IdiotsGuides on twitter
5. Enter any of my other CURRENT giveaways. Good for one entry per...

6. Put me on your blogroll and leave a link where I can find it. 

7. Add my button to your blog and leave me a link where I can find it.( Good for 3 entries so leave 3 comments)
8. Join my networked blogs - the widget is off to the right.
9. Become my friend on facebook  
10. Follow my goat Pricilla's Blog publicly. If you already do, just say so. And thank you.
11. Subscribe to Broken Teepee by email - Feedburner box at top right of page (good for two entries so leave two comments)
12. Subscribe to Broken Teepee in a reader


All entries need to be in by 9PM MDT on June 10th when I will go to Random.org to choose the winner. He/she will have 48hrs to respond or I will choose a new winner.


Good luck everyone.


Disclosure:  I received a gratis copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Year Round Gardening. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by the receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Giveaway: Celebrating Pets - The Grill Topper

Now, now! Don't go getting any ideas!
I am not suggesting you grill your pets.

I wouldn't do that!
I love my pets.

But just think of how cute your burgers would be with little paw prints grilled right into them.
Heh.

That's what you can do with The Grill Topper!
Your friends will think you are just too cute!

Here is what you need to know direct from The Grill Topper site:

The Grill Topper turns ordinary grilled meats into works of art by searing your favorite team's logo on to the surface of the meat! Simply set the Grill Topper on your existing grill rack, and place your chicken, pork, or beef directly on the team logo, searing the logo onto the meat as it cooks to perfection!

The Grill Topper is perfect for your next backyard barbeque, camping excursion, or tailgate party. Easy to use and easy to clean.

So who wants to win this adorable accessory?
That's what I thought!
But first, a rule:

I am mailing this myself and it's a bit heavy so US only.

MANDATORY ENTRY:

Go to the Grill Topper website and tell me another Grill Topper you might like to own.  Please, PLEASE leave me an email so I can contact you if you win. I do not want to have to try a myriad of ways to track a winner down.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

1. Follow my blog publicly. If you already follow, just say so. And thank you.
2. Follow me on twitter and tweet about the giveaway(one per day) - @BrokenTeepee and Grill Toppers are making summer grilling fun! @http://tinyurl.com/38r7vry #giveaway

3. Blog about this giveaway with a link back to Broken Teepee 
and Grill Toppers (this is good for 5 entries so leave 5 comments)
4. Subscribe to my blog by email - Feedburner link is at the top of the page. (good for two entries so leave two comments) 
5. Enter any of my other current giveaways. Good for one entry per...

6. Put me on your blogroll and leave a link where I can find it. 

7. Add my button to your blog and leave me a link where I can find it. (Good for 3 entries so leave 3 comments)
8. Join my networked blogs - the widget is off to the right.
9. Become my friend on facebook
10. Follow my goat Pricilla's Blog publicly. If you already do, just say so. And thank you.
11. Subscribe by RSS feed. The button is at the top of the blog. (good for two entries so leave two comments)
12.  Sign up for the Grill Topper newsletter - at the bottom right of the page (good for two entries so leave two comments)

All entries need to be in by 9PM MDT on June 9th when I will go to Random.org to choose the winner.  He/she will have 48hrs to respond or I will choose a new winner.

Good luck everyone.

Disclosure:  I was sent one Grill Topper and I am using it as the giveaway prize for my readers. I received no monetary compensation for this post. 

Giveaway Winners: Still the One by Robin Wells and EZLeash/EZCollar/EZHarness

I must apologize for the delay in picking and posting the winners for these two giveaways.
Yesterday was a busy day.
My goat, Abby went into labor!
I am a sucker for my goats and I sit with them when they are in labor. It seems to calm them a bit. It might also have something to do with the pitiful bleating they do when I leave the barn.

It pulls on my guilt strings. *sigh*
So I sat in the barn all day with Abby while she labored with her twins.

Therefore, without further ado the winners of Still the One by Robin Wells

Here are your random numbers:

26 12 64 47 8

Timestamp: 2010-05-26 15:21:08 UTC

The comments belong to:

Johnny
traveler
Cheryl F
Sharp Teeth of Love
Benita

Yay! They are all getting a good love story to read.

Now, on to the really cool EZLeash, EZCollar and EZHarness. This was a very generous giveaway. There are six prizes total. 2 of each style.  The first number picked with have their first choice and then the successive winners will get their best match from there.

The lucky dogs are:

Here are your random numbers:

34 58 86 77 89
16 

Timestamp: 2010-05-26 15:32:48 UTC

And their stylish walkers:

Johnny
jellybelly82158
LeeLa
Bethie
kae
Owen's Mom

Woo hoo!

I love making people (and their dogs) happy!

Remember, for those of you who did not win you can always purchase Still the One at Amazon.com















And the whole line of EZLeash/Collar/Harnesses at EZLeash.com


I want to thank The Hachette Book Group and EZLeash.com for sponsoring the giveaways and for making these 11 people happy!

I will be sending emails and coordinating the 6 winners of the EZLeash giveaway. The winners will have 48 hours to respond or I will choose new winners.

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Wordless Wednesday - Almost

Someone was so excited about his new cat toys he couldn't wait until I got them out of the box!

He did wait for the mousie! But then he ran off!

(PS - I must apologize for my inattentiveness to blogging yesterday. Abby had her kids and I spent the day keeping her comfortable. She was happiest when I was nearby so I stayed close to her, reading instead of staying inside on the computer.  I will get to the two giveaways that have ended today and notify the winners.)

Disclosure:  Sherpa was lucky and got a box of toys from Jakks Pacific to play with. He will tell you all about them tomorrow. Lucky Sherpa!

Review and Giveaway: Corel Paint It!

I have to admit to being hopeless with editing my photos.
So when given the opportunity to review Corel Paint It! I figured it would be another softward that my brain would not be able to wrap itself around.

Ha!

My brain is finally able to work an editing software. And I'm having so much fun.
So is my goat, Pricilla. She has decided to take painting up as her new hobby. She has retired from being a milk goat and she needs something to keep her occupied. You can read all about it HERE.

I have been playing with the software for a couple of days now and been having a blast. It is so easy to use! You just take a photo and you can apply an effect to it with the push of a button. For example; I took my header photo and applied the watercolor feature to it and this is the result

cool, huh?

There are also brushes with different "tips" as it were that you can apply to a photo. I used the fairy dust brush to add a little sparkle to this photo of one of my necklaces.

(you can see more examples on Pricilla's blog)
I know that as I play more and more I am only going to have tons of fun. Both blogs are going to have unique photos from now on! I am really thrilled  that I was able to learn and use Corel Paint It!

Here is some information about Corel Paint It!:

It's a quick and easy way for anyone to turn their favorite photos into unique works of art. Available immediately, Paint it! features a variety of brushes and preset painting styles, giving users everything they need to add stunning painted effects to their photos. Both Windows and Mac users can now create painted photographs in as few as three mouse clicks.  


Ideally suited for photography enthusiasts, scrapbookers, families and creative minds of any age, Paint it! features art tools and painting presets that faithfully replicate their traditional counterparts and a user interface that is both simple and intuitive. This makes it easier than ever for anyone to use their photos to create unique digital art keepsakes that are perfect for framing or sharing as special gifts with family and friends. 


“When we developed Paint it!, our goal was to provide an application that would allow anyone to produce truly exciting artwork, in only a few clicks of their mouse,” said Rob MacDonald, Product Manager for Corel® Painter™. “For any aspiring digital photographer, Paint it! can unleash their inner artist and add a more personal touch to their photos. It’s a perfect solution for anyone who’s creative or aspires to do more with their digital photos.”


And guess what? One lucky reader is going to have the chance to win the Corel Paint It! software. How cool is that?

How do you win? It's easy! But first, a rule:

US Only

MANDATORY ENTRY:

Go to the Corel store and tell me something else you might like to try. Be sure to leave your email so I can contact you if you win.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

1. Follow my blog publicly. If you already follow, just say so. And thank you.
2. Follow me on twitter and tweet about the giveaway(one per day) - @BrokenTeepee Corel are giving away Corel Paint It!@http://tinyurl.com/23pzsn5 #giveaway

3. Blog about this giveaway with a link back to Broken Teepee  and Corel
(this is good for 5 entries so leave 5 comments)
4. Subscribe to my blog by email - Feedburner link is at the top of the page. (good for two entries so leave two comments) 
5. Enter any of my other current giveaways. Good for one entry per...

6. Put me on your blogroll and leave a link where I can find it. 

7. Add my button to your blog and leave me a link where I can find it. (Good for 3 entries so leave 3 comments)
8. Join my networked blogs - the widget is off to the right.
9. Become my friend on facebook
10. Follow my goat Pricilla's Blog publicly. If you already do, just say so. And thank you.
11. Subscribe by RSS feed. The button is at the top of the blog. (good for two entries so leave two comments)
All entries need to be in by 9PM MDT on June 9th when I will go to Random.org to choose the winner. He/she will have 48hrs to respond or I will choose a new winner.

Good luck everyone.

Disclosure:  I received a gratis copy of Corel Paint It! Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by the receipt of the free software.  I received no monetary compensation for this pot.

 I was able to review and giveaway Corel Paint It! through my relationship with The Product Review Place. It's fun! It's full of great information and access to great products. Why not JOIN!

Giveaway - Celebrating Pets: The CVS Photobook

I don't know about all of you but I have literally THOUSANDS of photos of my pets.
I consider my goats to be my pets.
Given that Pricilla has her blog and it is very photo heavy you can IMAGINE how many photos of have.

I also love to take photos of my kitties when they let me. Stinky and Pumpkin are not particularly good posers but that Sherpa! He's a model cat!

I can see me making a beautiful photobook of the goats with a few pages of Sherpa inbetween.
Wouldn't that be a photobook to look through over and over?

I think so!

Did you know that CVS/pharmacy online offers the ability to make Custom Photobooks?
I didn't but now I do!
And  here is what I have learned:

Fun and easy to create. Simply upload photos to cvsphoto.com and select the “photo book” option
 

·         Books are customizable by rearranging the pictures, changing the size of the photos, adding text and choosing from a variety of backgrounds


·         Each book has 20 pages beyond the cover and can feature up to 54 pictures; additional pages are also available


·         The online photo books are shipped free of charge to your local CVS/pharmacy or can be sent to the customer’s home for a small shipping fee


·         Custom Cover Photo Books pricing 8x8 - $27.99; 8.5x11 - $29.99

Isn't that just the coolest?

Just imagine what you can do with 20 pages of photobook for your pets - or anything else!
One of you is going to find out!
That's right! I have a code for one reader (US only) to win a Custom Cover Photobook from CVSphoto.com


How do you win? It's easy!


MANDATORY ENTRY:


Go to CVSphoto.com and tell me another product you might like to try. Be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.


EXTRA ENTRIES:

1. Follow my blog publicly. If you already follow, just say so. And thank you.
2. Follow me on twitter and tweet about the giveaway(one per day) - @BrokenTeepee and CVS/pharmacy online photo center are giving away a Photobook@http://tinyurl.com/367q3wr #giveaway

3. Blog about this giveaway with a link back to Broken Teepee 
and CVSphoto.com  (this is good for 5 entries so leave 5 comments)
4. Subscribe to my blog by email - Feedburner link is at the top of the page. (good for two entries so leave two comments) 
5. Enter any of my other current giveaways. Good for one entry per...

6. Put me on your blogroll and leave a link where I can find it. 

7. Add my button to your blog and leave me a link where I can find it. (Good for 3 entries so leave 3 comments)
8. Join my networked blogs - the widget is off to the right.
9. Become my friend on facebook
10. Follow my goat Pricilla's Blog publicly. If you already do, just say so. And thank you.
11. Subscribe by RSS feed. The button is at the top of the blog. (good for two entries so leave two comments)

All entries need to be in by 9PM MDT on 7th when I will go to Random.org to choose the winner.

He/she will have 48 hours to respond or I will choose a new winner.

Good luck everyone.

Disclosure:  I received no monetary compensation for this post. I was just given the opportunity to give a photobook away to my readers. 

Book Review and Blog Tour: Morning For Dove by Martha Rogers

 

From the Publisher's Website:

Race. Culture. They can unite. They often divide.

When Luke Anderson falls for Dove Morris, he doesn't anticipate the prejudice he'll face from his own family. Dove's skin, such a beautiful reflection of her Native American heritage, serves as a point of contention between Luke and his parents. Will a literal trial by fire confirm Luke's love, or burn it away?

About the Author:

Martha Rogers placed her faith in Jesus Christ 65 years ago. He has seen her through her step-father's sexually abusive behavior toward her sister and brother, her own breast cancer, two mastectomies, two miscarriages, her husband's heart attack, her grandson's cystic fibrosis, and the deaths of her parents. She holds a Master's degree in education and enjoyed a 36-year teaching career. To say she's an inspiration to those of us trying to walk a faithful path is a gross understatement. 




My Opinion:

This is the second book in the Winds Across the Prairie Series. The first book Becoming Lucy (reviewed HERE) was a charming story. While obviously Christian in nature you really weren't hit over the head with it as much as in this book.


Luke Anderson thought he loved Lucy but as she was marrying Jake Starnes he suddenly noticed Dove Morris.  Dove had been noticing Luke for years but Luke's mother was highly prejudiced against Indians and Dove was half Cherokee.  You see Bea Anderson's family had been killed in an Indian raid when she was a child and she has not been able to forget nor forgive ANY Indian for that.


While Luke and Dove pursue their relationship despite this feeling of hatred on his mother's part they find themselves falling in love. With the help of some friends and friendly adults they find ways to spend time together but my biggest problem is that these 19 year old young people seemed to be acting like 15 year olds and thinking like 25 year olds. There was a split that just made no sense. In a time when girls married early and young men were on their own by 19 these two just seemed coddled. It didn't read true to me.


There is a town crisis as there was in the first book and everyone comes together to aid each other in true brotherly fashion. There is evil and minimal violence.  


I don't know exactly how to put my finger on what bothered me so much about this book that didn't bother me with the first book. It seemed to regress in tenor and be so overwhelmingly God driven that I just didn't enjoy it as much as Becoming Lucy. It truly detracted from the story telling.


It will be interesting to see if the third book moves forward or backwards.

Weekly Giveaway Linky

Giveaway Winner: 100 Custom Flyers/Brochures from Digital Room

Yay for winners!
Someone is going to have some spiffy flyers!
That's right.

Thanks to my sponsor, Digital Room.

And the lucky comment is:

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 44 

And the lucky commenter is:


The Budget Bride!!!!


Hooray


I will send an email and The Budget Bride will have 48hrs to respond or I will choose a new winner.


Thanks to everyone who entered and remember - if you didn't win you can get your own Custom Brochures or Flyers at DigitalRoom.com

Giveaway Winners: Wild Cravings Cat Treats

There are going to be some happy cats today! Well maybe not today but soon! Because five cat families are going to receive Wild Cravings cat treats!

Sherpa can meow you from experience that these are gooooood treats!

The lucky comments are:

69   32   46   15   37

and the lucky comments (and their cats) are:

Scott
Elise
rubynreba
Grand Pooba
Melissa

Yay!

A great big THANK YOU goes out to Wild Cravings for providing all this happiness!

For the rest of you who didn't win - you can purchase your kitty some yummy goodness at Naturapet.com

Yurtgress: My Bed is Here!

The call came from the trucking company!
My bed was arriving today.
The hubby had to go meet the truck at the cross road because to get to our house you have to go under Route 90 and the underpass is only 12'4" so the trucks can't fit under it. (The trailer just squeaked through!)

I's a plain, platform bed with drawers underneath 'cause we need to utilize all the space we can for storage.
Of course right now it's still in its boxes.
Lots of boxes.

They arrived in the back of his truck.

I was so happy. This is my first new bed ever!
He hauled them up in through the sliding doors.

Almost everything has gone in this way.

All six boxes are in!

I picked a light cherry stain to contrast with the bamboo flooring.
The bed is all hardwoods.

This is the drawer fronts.
It will have four drawers - they are pretty big!
They have little wheels so they will slide nicely.

It has a footboard that will hide the drawer mechanics.

 But no headboard as it will abut the wall under the windows.

I can't wait 'til he puts it together. Of course I will show you what it looks like assembled!
I can't believe we are getting this close!